it is done.

I promised a friend I would blog a little bit this week. My last post was about how I've come back to work. Unfortunately, time and energy is completely consumed with that and being a homemaker. But I have the itch to write.

Today is my kids' final. They are SO nervous. I took over at semester for two teachers, who did not necessarily do a bad job, but my students simply weren't prepared to take the district final. Do they have to? Not necessarily. But I do feel that it's a healthy benchmark. If you can pass the final, you can go on to Spanish 2 or 3. If you can't, you need to seriously think about retaking your foreign language. 

The hardest part is not knowing what the kids did know. I tried to do preassessments, but what I did still didn't gauge what they truly know. Just because they've studied body part vocab & reflexive verbs does not mean that they know how to form a sentence, for example. Then...just because they "know how" to conjugate preterit verbs, does not mean that teaching them how the imperfect works will just come naturally if I give them the bones. It certainly doesn't mean that they can have a (what I think is a) casual conversation or do a (what I think is a) simple project. I spent well over a quarter lowering their affective filter and my own, then getting them where they needed to be to pass the final.

One mantra sticks out to me, and it's one that my former mentor teacher, a true friend and forever-professional archetype, reminded me of: I love teaching, I love my students, and I love Spanish. Love. Not like, not just do, but love. And I do. When I can take a step back, with a deep breath, I remind myself that I do LOVE these kids and all I am doing for them. It's not been easy; the transition to becoming a working mom has been taxing on our pocket book, on our routine and our time, but it has been a lovely 18 weeks and I wouldn't change it!

Here's to summer, to living frugally, using my clothesline, doing a gazillion projects and watching my boys (who won't be babies for much longer...Abe is almost FOUR and Ike's 2nd birthday is in July) grow.